After My Ex-Boyfriend’s White Moonlight Proposed to Me - Chapter 42

Zhuang Yan, true to his word, came to the art team during lunch to find him.

 

When he came, he didn’t let others tell Xie Ning and propped his legs up in the outside living room, flipping slowly through a magazine he held in his hand.

 

His gaze swept across the closed door of the art team’s office every few seconds. Every time he glanced at it, the expression on his face would darken a little.

 

When someone passed by him, they couldn’t help but quiet their steps and carefully slip past.

 

The art assistant trembled with fear as he filled Zhuang Yan’s empty tea cup with water again, and under his expressionless gaze, opened a crack in the door to the office and squeezed in.

 

“B-Boss.”

 

Xie Ning didn’t realize that he was calling for him, and was still drawing on the tablet with his eyebrows furrowed.

 

The art assistant could only increase his volume. “Boss!”

 

Xie Ning was seriously not used to being addressed this way, and he was at a loss for a little while before he came back to his senses and pulled his attention slowly away from the drawing.

 

He put down his digital pen and turned his head to ask, “What’s the matter?”

 

The art assistant miserably replied, “Director Zhuang is looking for you probably for something important and has been waiting outside for a long time. If you’re done, maybe you should go and see him?”

 

Xie Ning paused, and subconsciously looked at the time.

 

12:24pm.

 

Lunch was already mostly over.

 

Xie Ning pursed his lower lip and became nervous for some reason. “Why…why didn’t anyone tell me?”

 

The art assistant didn’t know what they were playing at, and spread his hands out to say, “Director Zhuang said that you knew and told me to not disturb you.”

 

Xie Ning, seeing how he was trembling and seemed even more at a loss than himself, didn’t ask the other questions he had.

 

He slowly cleaned up the table, and pushed the door open as if death was awaiting him.

 

Zhuang Yan put the magazine in his hand down gently and raised his eyebrows. “You finally came out.”

 

Xie Ning knew he was in the wrong, and stood in front of him, well-behaved. “I’m sorry.”

 

Zhuang Yan was so angry that he wanted to pull him into his arms and give his head a good kneading, but they were still in public. He was worried about Xie Ning’s thin-skinned face, and only reached his hand out to hand him a windbreaker.

 

Xie Ning was taken to the parking lot by elevator.

 

When they walked out of the elevator, Zhuang Yan couldn’t resist and knocked Xie Ning’s forehead. “Do you know how long I waited for you?”

 

Xie Ning shrank his neck back. “Why didn’t you have someone call for me?”

 

Zhuang Yan lifted his eyebrow. “You’d come if they called for you once?”

 

Xie Ning was blindly following him from behind. He nodded, then remembered Zhuang Yan couldn’t see him, and let out a soft response. “Mmn.”

 

Zhuang Yan had long legs, and when he strode along, Xie Ning actually couldn’t keep up.

 

Zhuang Yan could only slow down his steps, and reached his hand out to pull Xie Ning to his side. “And then? Do I have to ask someone to call for you every time before you’ll remember to eat lunch?”

 

Xie Ning shook his head forcefully. “No…I’ll only occasionally forget the time. Sometimes others will return from lunch before I remember that I hadn’t eaten yet.”

 

Zhuang Yan smiled coldly and added, “So then you’d just rather not eat?”

 

“There’s also not enough time,” Xie Ning tried his hardest to defend himself. “I’ve put snacks in the studio, and can get full after a couple of cookies.”

 

Zhuang Yan smiled slightly. “Only eating a couple of cookies?”

 

Xie Ning didn’t like to eat sweets, and wouldn’t take the initiative to eat cookies and desserts. By saying this, he probably was so hungry that he ate a couple of cookies to stop feeling famished.

 

When Zhuang Yan opened the car door, he glanced at him, and let out an inexplicable laugh.

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

With Zhuang Yan looking at him like that, he held the car door and didn’t dare to speak for some reason.

 

“Get in the car first.” Zhuang Yan’s tone didn’t sound good, so Xie Ning obediently got in the passenger seat. He’d just sat down when he saw Zhuang Yan turn his body towards him.

 

Xie Ning, seeing how close he was, blushed suddenly.

 

Zhuang Yan laughed. “Why is your face red? What do you think I’m to do to you?”

 

Xie Ning shook his head wildly.

 

Zhuang Yan smiled and reached his hand out to help him put on the seatbelt.

 

Xie Ning asked, “We’re…going out to eat?”

 

Zhuang Yan laughed out loud. “What else could it be, baby? You’ve already gotten into my car, and you’re still asking this question?”

 

Xie Ning didn’t say anything and turned his head, pretending he was watching the scenery outside the window.

 

“I’ve just now found out that you have a lot of problems.” Zhuang Yan said vaguely. “…I must cure you well.”

 

Zhuang Yan had thought that this person was quite well-behaved, but only found out after he moved in that Xie Ning’s life was a bit disorganized.

 

Insomnia, using sleeping pills often.

 

Eating meals irregularly, and forgetting to eat if he wasn’t watching.

 

Zhuang Yan suspected that if it wasn’t for him often running over to Xie Ning’s house to eat meals, he might have kept drawing and forgotten dinner.

 

Xie Ning didn’t hear the first half of his sentence, and asked in confusion, “Cure what?”

 

Zhuang Yan glanced at him. “Cure the problem of you not eating lunch.”

 

Xie Ning said, embarrassed, “That isn’t a disease.”

 

Zhuang Yan lightly hmphed. “In short, you should keep track of time these couple of days to not make me wait as long as I did today.”

 

Xie Ning carefully said, “…It’s so troublesome; wouldn’t it be fine if you just had someone call me over?”

 

“No,” Zhuang Yan said slowly, “I’m afraid you won’t remember after a while. I have to teach you a lesson before you’ll remember to eat lunch.”

 

Xie Ning was confused again. “What lesson?”

 

Zhuang Yan said happily, “Every ten minutes you make me wait, I get to kiss you once. If I wait for half an hour, then I get to kiss you three times, and if I wait for an hour, then…”

 

He paused deliberately. “…six times.”

 

The tips of Xie Ning’s ears immediately became red. He moved his body on the seat, and couldn’t say anything.

 

“Today, you made me wait…” Zhuang Yan thought for a moment. “A little more than an hour. I’ll erase the fraction of the hour, so remember that you owe me six kisses.”

 

Xie Ning, hearing him say all this, was about to have steam come out of his head. “Today also counts?”

 

Zhuang Yan said, “It counts, of course it counts.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

Xie Ning, with his red face, looked around the car for a while before he said, “You…you’re teasing me again, right?” as if he was begging for mercy.

 

Zhuang Yan raised his eyebrows and let out a laugh. “Why don’t you let me kiss you six times and see if I’m teasing you?”

 

Xie Ning immediately closed his mouth.

 

When the car was almost at their destination, Xie Ning lowered his head and said, with bright red ears, “I know I was wrong, I’ll definitely remember to eat lunch in the future.”

 

Zhuang Yan found a parking spot and didn’t say anything.

 

Xie Ning continued to say, “Is it okay if I set an alarm? That way I guarantee I won’t forget!”

 

“Fine.” Zhuang Yan glanced at him and said, “When the alarm goes off, I’ll be outside waiting for you.”

 

When he got out of the car, Xie Ning was still pondering the lesson that Zhuang Yan gave him.

 

Was he going to kiss him six times or not!

 

Zhuang Yan had parked the car in an underground parking lot of a mall near the company. He’d come to this mall a couple of times before and knew that there were many restaurants upstairs.

 

He guessed Xie Ning’s taste and asked, “What do you want to eat? Grilled fish or spicy hot pot? Or meat and crab filled buns? If it’s hot pot, we might not have enough time.”

 

Xie Ning pursed his lips. “Anything is fine.”

 

“Then I’ll pick one at random.” Zhuang Yan pulled him into a grilled fish restaurant in the end. “This restaurant looks pretty good, and there’s not many people.”

 

There were small private rooms in the grilled fish restaurant, but they only used a couple of wooden planks and curtains to separate the room and the rest of the restaurant.

 

Xie Ning didn’t really have a problem with that.

 

Zhuang Yan frowned for a while, wanting to change to a different restaurant but afraid that Xie Ning would be so hungry that he would develop stomach problems. In the end, he massaged the spot between his brows and sat down, saying, “It’s better than nothing, I guess.”

 

Xie Ning was still pondering the problem of the kisses. Zhuang Yan had already changed the subject, saying, “There aren’t many groceries left at home and I need to notify Auntie Chen to buy some and put it in the fridge.”

 

“Ah.” Xie Ning paused before he reacted. “Then can we still make dinner tonight?”

 

Zhuang Yan reckoned, “There’s probably not enough. On the way back tonight, we can buy some groceries. Let’s make some hot pot at home instead.”

 

Xie Ning nodded. “That works too.”

 

Zhuang Yan smiled. “Last time Auntie Chen said that the authentic butter that was brought over from Sichuan probably hasn’t been used yet. Don’t you like to eat spicy stuff like this? I’m going to make you full tonight.”

 

Xie Ning’s eyes brightened. “Hot pot is simple as well, so you don’t have to be tired after cooking.”

 

Zhuang Yan glanced at him, amused. “But you can’t eat too much, or else your stomach might not be able to handle it.”

 

Xie Ning quietly said, “It’s not too bad since I’m used to eating spicy things.”

 

Zhuang Yan said helplessly, “Then my stomach can’t handle it, alright?”

 

Xie Ningp amused. “You can’t eat spicy?”

 

Zhuang Yan hadn’t responded yet when Xie Ning became anxious. “Does your stomach get uncomfortable when you eat spicy things? Or does it hurt?”

 

Seeing him like this, Zhuang Yan was amused in this heart. “Who made you like to eat spicy things? I can only sacrifice my life to accompany you.”

 

Xie Ning’s face blushed inexplicably. “I…don’t like it that much, so let’s forget about it?”

 

Zhuang Yan raised his eyes to look at him. “What?”

 

Xie Ning said, “Let’s not make hot pot and go buy some groceries instead to make dishes.”

 

Zhuang Yan laughed in his heart before saying, “No, I can eat spicy food so don’t be so nervous. It’s just that eating too much hot pot is bad for your body and is easy to have too much internal heat. I was just looking for an excuse to not let you eat it too often.”

 

Xie Ning still wasn’t satisfied, and asked Zhuang Yan a couple more times to make sure he really could eat spicy food before he was placated.

 

At the end, though, a sentence still came out of his mouth, “Why don’t we make a Mandarin duck hot pot instead tonight?”

 

After finishing the grilled fish and paying the bill, Zhuang Yan hugged him from behind, burying his face in the back of his neck, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

 

Xie Ning’s body stiffened. Only when they both entered the elevator, with nobody else, did he quietly ask, “Just now…did you kiss me?”

 

Zhuang Yan looked confused. “What?”

 

Xie Ning lowered his head, blushing, and stared at the tips of his shoes for a while before asking, “When you paid the bill, did you…kiss me from behind?”

 

He could feel even that?

 

Zhuang Yan raised his eyebrows.

 

He actually did quietly and very lightly kiss Xie Ning’s hair just now, but he thought Xie Ning wouldn’t be able to feel it.

 

Seeing how red Xie Ning was, about to burn, yet still staring at him waiting for an answer, Zhuang Yan laughed lowly and replied, “Yes, I did kiss you.”

 

“How are you…” Xie Ning hesitated for a long while.

 

Zhuang Yan asked, “How am I what?”

 

Xie Ning blushed for a while before he finished his sentence. “How come you’re also so…unrestrained in public?”

 

Zhuang Yan couldn’t resist and whistled in his heart. “Baby, it doesn’t matter if we’re in private or in public; I’m always this unrestrained and shameless.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

When the elevator reached the underground parking lot, Xie Ning took the opportunity to trot out a couple of steps first. The temperature of his face cooled down by quite a bit when the cold air blew onto him.

 

Zhuang Yan slowly walked out of the elevator. “Not only did I kiss you back there, but I even want to kiss you right now.”

 

Xie Ning’s face that had just cooled down, rose in temperature again.

 

Fortunately, Zhuang Yan was just saying it and didn’t make a move even when they both got in the car.

 

This time, Xie Ning put his seatbelt on by himself and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

But somewhere deep down in his heart, he was a tiny tiny bit disappointed for some reason.

 

Just a tiny bit.

 

The whole way back, Xie Ning was quiet and didn’t say anything. When Zhuang Yan occasionally spoke to him, he only responded, “Uh-huh” with minimal effort. He was obviously very distracted.

 

Zhuang Yan couldn’t help himself and asked, “What are you thinking about, so focused?”

 

Xie Ning slowly turned his head to him and paused for a long time before saying, “Then…the kiss just now, does it count as one kiss already?”

 

Zhuang Yan laughed. “You still remember the six kisses I mentioned?”

 

Xie Ning blushed even more.

 

Zhuang Yan originally wanted to just joke around with him so that Xie Ning could remember things better.

 

Now that Xie Ning mentioned it so seriously, the beast in his heart poked its head out a little.

 

He said, with an inexplicable yet confident tone, “Yes, I’ve kissed you once, so you still owe me five kisses.”

 

Xie Ning stopped talking again.

 

Zhuang Yan drove while thinking, Right now, is Xie Ning pondering how he should repay those five times?

 

The more he thought about it, the more Zhuang Yan thought it was warm and funny in his heart.

 

How could he be…so cute.

 

When the car stopped, Xie Ning’s cheeks were completely red.

 

He was thinking of something. When Zhuang Yan parked the car, he immediately opened the door and jumped off the car.

 

Zhuang Yan looked at his escaping back, and the words “Be careful” were in his throat but he didn’t have time to say it.

 

After a little while, Xie Ning slowly walked back and asked, “Where are we?”

 

When he looked up, he found the place unfamiliar and didn’t look like the company.

 

Zhuang Yan got out of the car, closed the door, spun the car key on his finger a couple of times, and replied, “This afternoon, auditions for the protagonist are starting. I brought you here to help you find some inspiration.”

 

Xie Ning repeated after him like a parrot. “Find inspiration?”

 

“That’s right.” Zhuang Yan raised his eyebrow, saying, “Aren’t you stuck on what the male lead should look like? It’s a good time to see the people auditioning, and maybe there’ll be something for you to gain.”

 

Author’s Note: ZhuangZhuang: (Recording) You still owe me five kisses.

NingNing: QAQ When can I finish paying them?